How many times have you called your bank or utility to ask a question and were transferred more than a few times? Worse yet, each time you were transferred you had to re-tell the story of why you are calling – that is, AFTER you explained who you are and often PROVED it by answering security questions. Smarter Commerce is long overdue. In simplified terms, this is when businesses contact you and interact with you in a meaningful way, to provide an optimal experience. The word optimal has Latin roots and it means most favorable or best. perhaps that will be a future post). MORE >>

We recently posted in our newsletter about 3 tips to close more deals. The third tip talked about setting next actions. Specifically, Determine and set a next action. Before you make in-person or phone contact, decide what you and the buyer (prospect) are going to do next. Convey that to the prospect, with their agreement, so they understand what is going to happen next. Set a time to get back in contact and specify when (date and time), what are you going to talk about, how (phone, in-person), and the purpose. This is a great way to end a conversation. Everyone leaves with clear understanding. MORE >>

courtesy of InsideView. If your B2B company has been slow to get more involved in what some call the Social Selling movement, you can still do some very simple things right away while your company debates how, when and why to jump in. Since we encourage clients to make small improvements every day, we are less concerned about your global strategies and more interested in you taking some small specific actions. big win for your sales team would be to find more prospective customers and start listening to what they are saying. Here are three simple ideas to help you get started. Read it. MORE >>

A corporate salesperson was telling me about his pipeline, and explaining all of the opportunities that were stalled. Nearly every one had what he thought were insurmountable problems.  He was perplexed, frustrated, and in his mind, his career at a new company would be short-lived. We sat down and talked through every sales opportunity he had listed. In his case there are 4 deals he considers to be “qualified”, and quite a few deals that have not gotten to the qualified stage. Selected means that he’s been told by the prospect that they will work with him.) ASK GOOD QUESTIONS.  . MORE >>

A corporate salesperson was telling me about his pipeline, and explaining all of the opportunities that were stalled. Nearly every one had what he thought were insurmountable problems.  He was perplexed, frustrated, and in his mind, his career at a new company would be short-lived. We sat down and talked through every sales opportunity he had listed. In his case there are 4 deals he considers to be “qualified”, and quite a few deals that have not gotten to the qualified stage. Selected means that he’s been told by the prospect that they will work with him.) ASK GOOD QUESTIONS.  . MORE >>